Death of bin Laden a reason for celebration

Scars can be forgotten but they never leave. They are always there to remind us of what the past has left behind.

As I began my drive to the office Monday morning I was, like many of us, stunned at the news of the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of American forces.

The scars that he and al-Qaida left behind on this country soon became visible again and we were reminded they were there.

I was happy to hear the man who brought so much pain and sadness to so many people in this country was finally taken down.

This is one of those days I will always remember where I was when I heard the news, just as I remember September 11, 2001.

At that time, I was a freshman in high school. I had no clue as to who Osama bin Laden was. I mean, my youngest brother had not even been born yet.

Little did I know at that time, this man would change the lives of people in my generation. Things changed for people my age that day, and for the rest of this country.

I had friends and classmates go to Iraq and Afghanistan. People I sat in class with who would have their lives taken away. Families were affected and never would be the same again. All of that came at the leadership of this man.

Sons and daughters of our communities were killed fighting for what they believed was right.

As I heard the news, I could not help but smile and celebrate this death. It may not have been morally right for me to think that way, but it sure felt good knowing that our troops brought justice down with a vengeance.

Bin Laden was not a good man. He was not a good human being. The events orchestrated by bin Laden and his followers on 9/11 cannot and will not be forgotten by this country.

He hurt too many people and took too many fathers, too many mothers, sons and daughters 10 years ago.

So I say, celebrate. Don’t celebrate a death, but a victory, a victory for us.

Those scars, they will always be there, in a field in Pennsylvania, at the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center. But as time moves on, those scars will fade; they will become part of who we are, and they will make us stronger.